If you think of the earth as a spinning top, then the north and south poles are the top and bottom of the top. As the earth spins we get day and night. At the North Pole, however, night occurs continuously for half the year, and day occurs continuously for half the year depending on whether the pole is facing toward or away from the sun. Click here for today's view looking down on the North Pole from 1,000,000 kilometers in space.

The North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. The ocean is 4000 meters deep. Although it is an ocean, it is water you can walk on. There are 2-3 meter thick ice floes floating on the water at the North Pole. In summer the temperatures are near 0 centigrade and there is light. In winter the temperature is about -30 centigrade and it is dark. With the Interactive Arctic Climate Map, you can see mean monthly temperatures for many locations in the Arctic (including the North Pole).